adventures of a filipino traveler from the philippines to the world

St John the Baptist Church of Jimenez

I have fascinations for old churches and temples. The mere idea that an old church exist is like a magnet that pulls me. So here I am in Jimenez town in the province of Misamis Occidental.

At the gate, the church looks like one of the usual-old churches I have seen. At any rate, I have to get inside to say a little prayer, take pictures, appreciate religious arts and perhaps be blessed.

As I walked inside, my attention was first caught by an unusual smell – how do I say it, the smell of bats, smell of old wood, old water – unpleasant smell in other words. But it was nothing when I started to notice what is inside the church.

The ceiling is unusual because the paintings/designs were not done directly on the wood-ceiling but rather on a canvass which was later on pasted with adhesive. The canvass are the original ones that have been here since its construction in the 17th century.

The columns are made of hard woods and these are the very woods used centuries ago.

The church is adorned with old images of saints.

To date, the church of Saint John the Baptist Church is Jimenez has been declared a National Treasure for Culture by the National Historical Institute.

Truly indeed, the church of Saint John the Baptist in Jimenez is not one of the usual churches I have seen. It is among the best preserved and most beautiful churches the Philippines has.

Since I started in our cuchrh in January I’ve learned a lot about how cuchrh services are structured. The cuchrh I’m at would be described as traditional in terms of hymns / service structure (prayer / hymn / announcements / hymn / sermon / hymn / breaking of bread service.) This seemed to me to have been the case for many years.However what I have learned is that this structure appeals to many people, including those new to cuchrh as it is regular without being predictable, and they know what’s going to happen. In terms of the traditional nature of our praise etc, we are working with what we have, rather than grafting in new approaches from outside. The members of our cuchrh would welcome new approaches/methods within the cuchrh as long as the message of the Gospel wasn’t diluted / distracted from as can be the case in new approaches of cuchrh. I’d also like this to be organic as new people with creative gifts join the cuchrh and are encouraged to express them to the glory of God.We sit / we stand / we pray / we preach / we laugh / we cry / we sing / we’re quiet / we chat / we listen I think without being prescriptive that’s what the cuchrh is supposed to do!We’re structured enough to enable people to not feel out of place but we’re flexible enough to adapt the service depending on what’s happening That’s us I’m not saying it’s right or wrong or it couldn’t be amended slightly but, it’s just us.

nice one sir! i specially love the ceilings of old churches and this one is no exception… kaso sana ma linis at maintain nila ng mas maayos para di mabaho hahaha… well actually more of ma prevent yung mas malaking gastusin in the future sa mas malaking restoration =)

(I’m not sure if I’m posting this in the corerct place as I was unable to post it from the Dashboard.)The type of physician I would like to work with is a gerontologist. A gerontologist specializes in caring for the elderly. I have a fondness for our older population. They built out society and lived in a time that many of us can learn from. I would take great pride in caring for them as they age. In my opinion, working with a doctor that shares my passion and excitement would be the ideal work environment.The type of physician I would not be as excited to work with would be a proctologist. To be completely honest, I just don’t think I have what it takes to be in that environment. It’s important to be professional in any medical environment. I believe my sense of humor would not allow me to be as professional as I would need to be. I would also prefer not to work with ophthalmologist. Several years ago I spent a week with my grandfather at a specialist to have cataracts removed. I found it very difficult to watch the videos of my grandfather’s up coming procedures. It wasn’t difficult caring for my grandfather after surgery, but I must admit the pre-op was an experience that I would not want to assist in on a daily bases.

My wife and I travelled from Ozamis to Oroqieta and then to Dapitan last June. I remember the bus having a stop in Jimenez. Had I known about this church, we should have had a day visiting it. Will surely do in the future.